University Chorus performs tonight

The University Chorus presents its fall concert tonight (Dec. 3), featuring Artist-in-Residence Ian Howell, countertenor.

The program:

• Bernstein — Chichester Psalms and Missa Brevis
• Conte — O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo
• Ortiz — Gallos (premiere)
• Finzi — "My Lovely One" and "God is Gone Up" from Three Anthems
• Rutter — Musica Dei Donum

The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are available through the Mondavi Center box office. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and one hour before all ticketed events. You can also order by telephone, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, and online.

11th annual Serenata Colombiana

Davis’ Colombian community, including many people affiliated with UC Davis, is presents the 11th annual Serenata Colombiana — scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 11.

The cultural showcase is set to open at 7 p.m. in the Davis High School theater, 315 W. 14th St.

“The serenata is an act of love for our country, which we hold very close in our hearts even though it is far away in distance,” said one of the organizers, Tina Castillo, academic director of International English and Professional Programs at UC Davis Extension.

Castillo is a co-founder and chief executive officer of the nonprofit UEPAGE Foundation, which presents the serenata in furtherance of the foundation’s goals: to spread Colombian culture and contribute to the well being of the needy in Colombia.

This year’s fundraising beneficiary is the same as last year’s: the Women’s Microcredit Bank of Chocó. Castillo said the bank assists female heads of household who have been forcibly displaced.

The coastal region of Chocó also plays a role in the serenata entertainment this year, as the origin of music and dance by the host groups Los Primos and Colombia Viva.

This year’s program also features these invited guests:

• Singer Inés Salazar from Colombia, performing music from the Magdalena Medio region (cumbia, bullerengue, tambora, gaita and porro). She is the soloist in the Gaita Hembra group, which performs this genre of folkloric music in important regional fes tivals, including the Festival de Ovejas Sucre, the Gaita Festival in Cereté, Córdoba, and the International Festival of the Immaterial Patrimony of the Andean Countries.

• Frank French and Sarah Vanegas, proponents of “New World Piano Music,” presenting a repertoire of Colombian vernacular music.

Organizers said French will play one of his most recent compositions, Cumbia, while Vanegas will perform her arrangement of El Sotareño (bambuco by Francisco Diago).

In addition, Vanegas intends to introduce one of her students, 8-year-old Clauja Marú Márquez, and together they will perform Cachipay (pasillo by Emilio Murillo).

Serenata tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for children, in advance at The Avid Reader, 617 Second St., Davis, and Watermelon Music, 207 E St., Davis. Ticket prices are $3 higher at the door.

Castillo said contributions are welcome even from people who are unable to attend the serenate. Donations should be addressed to the UEPAGE Foundation, 932 Craig Place, Davis 95616.

More information is available online, or by e-mailing uep@uepage.org.